


Concrete and Moonlace

by FlusteredWriter



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, F/M, Feelings, Fluff, One Shot, all the feelings, allude to past Percy/Calypso, takes place after BOO
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:00:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25255819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlusteredWriter/pseuds/FlusteredWriter
Summary: Leo introduces Calypso to his friends in New York City, but the past has a way of making things messy
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Calypso & Leo Valdez, Calypso/Percy Jackson
Comments: 4
Kudos: 72





	Concrete and Moonlace

“You’re gonna love these guys, I can’t wait for you to meet them.” Leo pulls Calypso down the streets of Manhattan, eager to show her the sights. “Seriously, they’re the best, and they know this city better than anyone.”

Calypso laughs as she’s pulled along, clutching her sun hat as she gazes at the city. Never in her life did she imagine such wondrous things. A hero had described New York to her once, but hearing about it and seeing it were two very different experiences. Then again, perhaps the untold centuries she spent on her island has made her easy to impress.

She’s so beautiful here. Leo can’t imagine how many more ways she can take his breath away, but he’s not complaining. The wind pulls at the cotton sundress, weaves through her cinnamon hair. Her smile is so bright, and she takes in everything with such wonder. He wants to show her the world one day, show her everything humanity has to offer. Her hand is so warm in his, and she’s holding on like he’s her only lifeline. Occasionally, he catches her looking at him with the same sort of wonder, like she can’t believe he’s real. Will the feeling ever go away?

Leo is rambling about his friends, but he still won’t tell her who they are; apparently they are some great heroes, demigods who saved the world countless times. It was supposed to be some big surprise, meeting them at a coffee shop for some catching up before sightseeing. They didn’t walk for long before coming up on a quaint little cafe, the smell of coffee and baked goods filling the spring-time air. Leo catches the eye of a beautiful blonde girl sitting with a boy outside; his back is to them, but the girl looks familiar. She waves in return, prompting the boy to turn in his seat, and when Calypso catches sight of his face, she stops dead in her tracks.

“What is it?” Leo asks, concerned at the sudden change in her demeanor. “Are you okay?”

Calypso lets go of his hand, touching her fingers to her lips with a soft gasp. Percy stands from his chair, and Leo doesn’t like the slightly awed look on his face, or the murderous look on Annabeth's. Why did he suddenly have the feeling that everything was about to go wrong?

The moment of shock seems to be broken as Percy’s face breaks out into a huge smile. “Calypso!”

“Percy,” she replies, quieter, but with a smile just as bright. “Oh my gods, you’re alive!” 

She rushes forward as Percy leaves his table, enveloping him in a tight hug that he eagerly returns, picking her up off her feet and twirling her around. She squeals in delight, and the whole scene looks straight out of a movie to Leo. Which is a little annoying, considering it’s his girlfriend cuddling up to the handsome, heroic, son of freaking Poseiden in the middle of the sidewalk. No biggie.

“Gods, I can’t believe you’re here,” Percy says when they finally pull apart. He’s cupping her face and looking at her like any moment she’ll disappear (which, again, Leo is supposed to have dibs on), and she’s looking at him with equal reverence. “How?”

“Leo. He was amazing, after he left my island the first time and won the war, he found his way back on his dragon-”

Leo slings an arm over her shoulder as she pulls away from Percy, trying to play it coo,l but obviously feeling a little jealous. “And I swooped in like the dashing Prince Charming to rescue the princess. The end. How do you guys know each other, by the way?”

Percy chuckles sheepishly, running a hand through his hair. “Uh, we met when Annabeth and I were working our way through the Labyrinth. I got blasted out of a volcano, and well…”

“You know how heroes make their way to my island, Leo.” She leans into him, trying to be reassuring, but they all know what it means for a hero to have found their way to  Ogygia. And what it means for Percy to have left. 

Annabeth clears her throat, obviously displeased. She’s come up behind them, arms crossed and mouth set in a tight line. Leo can’t imagine how she feels right now, or if she even knew about Percy’s detour to Ogygia. “Gonna introduce us, babe?”

“Uh, right. Calypso, this is my girlfriend, Annabeth. Annabeth, Calypso.”

There’s a brief second where Leo is sure Annabeth is going to kill Calypso, and while he is a boy of many talents, taking Annabeth is not one of them. Evidently she decides otherwise, and she just shakes Calypso’s extended hand. 

Calypso can sense the tension, but she wants to do her best to smooth things over. These people are her friends, her new family, and Leo cares so deeply about them. So she puts on her warmest smile and shakes Annabeth’s hand as she thinks friendly thoughts. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you, Annabeth, it’s so wonderful to finally meet you in person.”

Annabeth seems surprised by this, which Leo didn’t even think was possible; who surprises the daughter of Wisdom herself? “You have?”

“Of course. Time doesn’t work on Ogygia the same way, and the nights are long. Percy told me all about his friends, Camp Half-Blood. Even New York.” She looks at the city around her, smiling warmly. “Though it’s certainly much better to see it in person.”

“Oh! There’s something I have to show you,” Percy says suddenly, like he’s just remembered something. “Do you mind a quick detour? Then we’ll do all the stuff Leo had planned.”

“Of course!” Calypso says, before Leo or Annabeth can protest. “Where are we going?”

He lets her loop her arm through his, leading her down the street. “My old highschool.”

“What could possibly be there,” Leo grumbles as he and Annabeth follow the pair, more to himself than anything. This was supposed to be his and Calypso’s day, taking her around the city, being all romantic and stuff, and now she’s getting swept up by the hero of Olympus himself. 

“Don’t let it get to you too bad,” Annabeth says, but it feels like she’s trying to convince herself as much as him. “They had… a unique experience.”

“Believe me, I know.”

“...Right.”

They took the subway, Percy and Calypso chatting the whole way. They really did try to include the other two, but it was like they were in their own little world. In a way, they were, catching up on conversations they had started years before. Leo tried not to take it too personally; countless heroes had found their way to Calypso’s island, and all of them were long-dead, save him and Percy. He’d had months with Calypso already, of course she wants to catch up with someone she cares about, probably one of her only living friends in the whole world. 

Still, it stung. Leo thought he was past the insecurity, but there were still days where he looked at Calypso, at how beautiful, brave, smart, wonderful she was, and wondered what she ever saw in him. She somehow always knew what to say when he got that way, reminding him of all the things she loved about him, about being with him, but what was he supposed to do now, whine about not getting enough attention in the middle of a subway? Besides, she looked so happy, and Percy is one of his best friends. 

They reached their final station and got off, making their way back to the street. Leo knew that Percy got into some nice school with his step-dad’s help, but he wasn’t really expecting...this. It’s huge, first of all, right in the middle of the city. Students are everywhere, bustling in and out of class, milling about on the lawn. Some of them recognize Percy, and he greets just about everyone as they work their way through the halls.

“We’re almost there, promise,” he says after leading them through what felt like the whole school. “There’s a courtyard in the center, where kids can eat lunch and stuff, and my step-dad helped me… Well, you’ll see.” He’s grinning from ear to ear, practically vibrating in excitement. Even Annabeth’s mood has lightened, like she knows where they’re going. Honestly, she probably does. 

They exit out into the courtyard, just like Percy said, and he leads them to the northwest corner, which holds a sizable garden. There’s a crude yet quaint stone archway at the entrance, the aroma of flowers and fresh earth washing over them long before they pass under the arch. 

“Guys, welcome to Ogygia.”

Leo had to admit, it was pretty impressive. Despite being in the middle of a concrete wasteland, the garden is flourishing. Birds and other hidden things skitter about in the bushes and trees, and a small fountain gurgles in the center. Everything is lush and colorful, and it dampens the sound of the city around them. Calypso’s island was supposed to be absolute paradise, and this garden was like a little slice of that paradise in the middle of New York. It’s beautiful.

Calypso is practically breathless. “You did this, for me?”

“I told you I would,” Percy reminds her, taking her hand. “Here, look at this.”

He leads her to a patch of the most beautiful flowers, delicate petals glowing blue under the shade of a young tree. Calypso gasps and kneels right there in the dirt, ghosting her fingers over the patch. “My moonlace.”

“I had them in my mom’s flowerbox for a while, but we managed to get them out here, and they’ve been doing great ever since.” Percy bends down beside her. “Do you like it?”

She beams up at him, a smile bright enough to rival the moonlace. “I love it. Thank you, Percy.”

He helps her stand, and she hugs him again. The emotion is deeper than at the coffee shop, but this time there is no twinge of jealousy tugging at Leo’s heart. He gets it now. They were important to each other in one way, and now they’re important to each other in an entirely different way. It makes him feel silly for being jealous in the first place. Annabeth seems to come to the same conclusion, smiling softly as she meets Leo’s eyes.

“I’m so happy I got to show this to you,” Percy says when they finally pull apart. “I didn’t know if you’d ever get to see it, but it was enough to know a part of you wasn’t stuck on that island.”

Calypso touches his face, just the lightest brush of her fingertips over his cheek. “You honor me, Percy Jackson. Thank you, for keeping your word.”

When they part, she reaches her hand out to Leo, and he eagerly takes it, kissing her cheek as he draws her close. Annabeth settles into Percy’s side, his arm slung over her shoulders, and together the four of them make their way out of the garden. Out of Ogygia, out of the school, into New York, and onto the unknown. 

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this kind of quickly so I'm sorry if I missed any mistakes! Also, Leo not knowing Percy had met Calypso may not be totally accurate (in the middle of a reread and I can't remember), but I needed them to not know to make it work. Hope you like it!


End file.
